Stone-pelting near CAA protest site, DMRC closes two stations

A stone-pelting incident was reported near Maujpur-Babarpur Metro Station on Sunday evening even as police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob. The incident took place close to the site of anti-CAA protests on the road outside Jaffrabad Metro Station in northeast Delhi, where at least 500 people are staging a sit-in from Saturday night.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, in a statement on Sunday, said it has closed down the entry and exit gates of Jaffarabad and Maujpur-Babarpur stations and trains will not be halting there.

A pro-CAA rally, led by Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra, also took place at Jaffrabad on Sunday.

The road where the protest began on Saturday night connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. The protesters, according to news agency PTI, carried the national tricolour and raised slogans of 'aazadi'. They also tied a blue band around their arm and raised 'Jai Bhim' slogans.

Traffic was also blocked at the site as protesters continued to occupy the road on Sunday morning.

One of the women protesters told PTI that they will not leave the site till the time CAA is not revoked. Social activist Faheem Baig was quoted as saying by PTI that there is resentment within the people against the way the government is handling the issue.

Shamim Ahmed, a local cleric, has been in talks with the Jaffrabad protesters to persuade them to leave the site.

A protest is already going on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri against the amended Citizenship Act. The protest at Jaffrabad took place at a time when efforts are being made to clear a road blocked by anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh.

Following mediation between Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors and protesters at Shaheen Bagh, road number 9, a one-way route connecting Noida with Kalindi Kunj, was opened on Saturday evening which was day 70 of the protest. The protesters have been staging a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh for over two months, blocking the road connecting southeast Delhi and Noida.

Acknowledging that people have a fundamental right to protest, the Supreme Court Monday appointed two advocates Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde as interlocutors with the mandate to persuade anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi to end their blockade of a public road. The court will hear the matter next on February 24.